Monthly Archives: December 2012

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Today’s upgrade to my blog engine also changes its appearance on smart phones and other mobile devices. I’ve checked it on my own phone and think it’s a good step in the right direction. I hope you agree.

I love finding inspiring layout themes – or actual layouts – that don’t require a lot of real estate, yet provide interesting modelling and operating possibilities. One such layout is Keith Jordan‘s HO scale layout of a switching district on the ATSF known as “The Patch”.

I offer more information about Keith’s excellent layout – including why I like it so much – on my layout design blog. Click on the photo of Keith’s rendition of The Patch below to read more – and enjoy if you visit.

I recently stumbled across this really neat site for anybody who is interested in heritage buildings in Canada. (This would include hobbyists, such as myself, who are trying to model specific places – as well as hobbyists who are looking for inspiration for a structure-building project.)

The website describes itself as, “an online interactive inventory and mobile application that enables Canadians to take a direct role in identifying important community heritage assets”. I describe it as a great resource – one that should get better as more people create profiles and load pictures and stories.

More Busch tobacco plant kits arrived in today’s mail, from the good folks at Scenic Express. I’m still building the last batch – better get at it!

And my order of corn stalks from JTT Scenery Products has been shipped, expedited (thank you!) – it might arrive by the end of this week, but more likely between Christmas and New Years. Still, I’ll have some holiday time to do some planting.

While searching for something else at a local hobby shop, I came across some beautiful HO scale corn stalks from JTT Scenery Products. I bought five packages and planted them near the depot in St. Williams yesterday:

They’re going to add a nice bit of height to the scene and help blend the layout into the backdrop. They’re pretty eye-catching, too:

There’s no direct link to the corn stalks but they’re item number 95511 – the first item in the JTT Gardening Plants section of the website. They come in a package of 36 for $8.95 – or about 25 cents per stalk.

I’ve already emailed JTT to see if I can place a bulk order – as this photo of five packages in place on the layout makes clear…

Yesterday’s work with the static grass applicator also involved improving the right-of-way in St. Williams.

I started by adding grass along the edges of the right of way – outside the rails. When this was dry, I went back and carefully added glue between the ties, between the rails, and added grass here, too. I also sprinkled on green ground foam. I then went away, let everything dry, and vacuumed up the excess scenic materials. The result is track that’s part of the landscape, rather than sitting on top of it.

Here, a boxcar sits in the siding at St. Williams, waiting to be picked up by the extra freight east back to Hamilton:

As can be seen, the grass really encroaches on the right of way, suggesting that maintenance is being deferred as the railway awaits permission to abandon the line.

The effect is also apparent in this view of the mainline heading south from St. Williams:(I really like the green patch between the rails.)

Compare the photos below. On the left, yesterday’s grass-planting. On the right, an earlier picture of St. Williams with ballast in place but no grass (and unpainted rail):

With careful application, the grass poses no problem to locomotives or rolling stock.

Resources

Charles Cooper's Railway Pages
The author of “Hamilton’s Other Railway” and “Rails to the Lakes” – two books the cover other parts of the line that I model – also has a huge amount of terrific content online. Brew a mug and spend a while…

CNR Historical Association
From prototype information to paint, this is an important resource for the serious CNR modeller. Publishers of “CN Lines” magazine, as well as a DVD of back issues.

CNR In Ontario
Jeffrey Smith maintains a website with invaluable information for anybody interested in modelling the Canadian National Railway in Ontario. Grab a mug or pint, and prepare to spend some time!

GPS Video
DVDs of Canadian subjects – including Railway Recollections V5, which includes some vintage film of the Port Rowan line.

S Scale SIG
An NMRA-affiliated group dedicated to scale model railroading in 1:64. Given the dominance of American Flyer-style railroading in this scale, the SIG is a welcome addition to our online community!

Steam Era Freight Cars – Blog
A blog run by Marty McGuirk which is about exactly what it sounds like: Freight cars from the steam era and how to model them. Some neat information about specific industries, too.

Pacific Rail Shops
No longer in business, but an important supplier of rolling stock kits for S scale enthusiast. This link takes you to their story. It’s worth a read – and you may be surprised by how they still influence the hobby today.

Proto:87 Stores
Don’t let the name fool you: While this company primarily caters to the finescale HO market, Andy Reichert also offers some wicked-good scale spikes for 1:64.

Ridgehill Scale Models
My friend David Clubine and his late father Oliver run this supplier of resin kits for S scale rolling stock.

What others are doing

Algonquin Railway
Ryan Mendell’s blog about his freelanced regional railway, set in Northern Ontario in April of 1977 and built in a 12′ x 12′ room.

B&O Old Main Line
Jim Fawcett is building a layout based on a neat prototype: The Baltimore and Ohio’s 65-mile Old Main Line from Baltimore to Point of Rocks. He’s modelling a 20-mile stretch of the subdivision and blogging about it here.

bobcatt's 2 bits
A blog written by my friend Chris Abbott, who frequently helps with the building of my layout.

Bogong and Geehi Railway
Australian modeller Murray Scholz is building a lovely Australian narrow gauge layout in O scale.

Border District
Australian railways are neat – and the models are too. This one, an HO scale proto-freelanced layout being built by Anthony Palmer, caught my eye…

Central Vermont Railway
An interesting blog by my friend Marty McGuirk about his Central Vermont Railway – and other things.

CNR Fergus Sub
Andreas Keller is building a great, achievable HO scale layout set in the mid-1980s and based on a 14-mile segment of the Canadian National in southern Ontario. You can read about Andreas’ layout on John Longhurst’s blog.

CNR Waterloo Spur
My friend Robin Talukdar blogs about his plans to re-create the CNR line between Kitchener and Elmira, Ontario. He’s also building an exhibition layout based on the CNR Pine Street Spur, serving a paper mill in Thorold, Ontario.

Fillmore Avenue Roundhouse
My friend Rick De Candido has built a terrific layout based on an unusual theme: a New York Central engine service terminal in Buffalo. This was featured in the 2015 edition of Model Railroad Planning magazine.

Iowa Interstate – Milan branch
Scott Thornton is building a lovely HO scale rendition of a branch of the Iowa Interstate Railroad, and blogging about it on the Model Railroad Hobbyist forum. Exactly the sort of layout I advocate on my Achievable Layouts blog.

Iowa Interstate Grimes Line
James McNab is building a delightful, prototype-based, modern-era short line operation in HO scale – exactly the sort of subject I advocate on my Achievable Layouts blog. Here’s a link to his blog at Model Railroad Hobbyist.

Louisiana Central
Jack Shall’s HO scale railroad, linking the Texas and Pacific with the Mississippi Central through the Tunica Hills.

New Castle Industrial Railroad
Real railroad conductor Jack Hill writes about his O scale modern switching layout. Lots to learn on this blog, but unfortunately it has been dormant for quite some time.

Pierre Oliver's Elgin Car Shops blog
My friend Pierre Oliver regularly updates his blog with information on rolling stock he’s building for customers, the HO scale rolling stock in his own line of kits, and – most importantly – his Wabash layout.

Prince Street Terminal
The always thoughtful Chris Mears on his model railway projects, and the prototypes that inspire him.

Quebec South Shore Railway
My friend Matthieu Lachance has a blog about modelling a great subject for a model railway – a Canadian branch line facing abandonment in the 1980s.

Waterloo Region Model Railway Club
At the opposite end of the spectrum from the layout I’m building, this group is constructing a massive layout that accurately models the CP Rail Sudbury Division in the 1970s. This club is southern Ontario’s answer to La Mesa and the NEB&W.

X The Social Side X

Cook's Illustrated
When friends gather for a work session or operating night, a good meal goes a long way towards making it memorable. But what if you’re puzzled by pans? Cook’s Illustrated is the geek’s answer to great cooking – check it out!